A young soldier fatally shot himself at Deepcut barracks hours after he was told he would be discharged from the Army, a coroner has ruled.

Private Sean Benton, 20, was found on June 9 1995 with five bullet wounds to his chest at the Surrey military base, moments after tricking a fellow junior officer that he was to relieve her guard duty, giving him access to the weapon.

Coroner Peter Rook QC concluded during an eight-hour hearing at Woking Coroner’s Court that the death was self-inflicted.

The coroner said the first round injured the soldier, but that a second round – fired by Pte Benton when two officers arrived at the scene – proved fatal.

Letters to friends and family were found nearby soon after, expressing his upset at being discharged after a string of confrontations.

Even by the standards of 1995, the investigation into Sean’s death was woefully inadequate. My own investigation has been greatly hindered by the inadequacies of the original investigation
Coroner Peter Rook QC